Nos complace saber que Kite Pharma anunció ayer iniciarán inmunoterapias celulares personalizadas antes de finales de 2016. Estas terapias se dirigirán a determinados subsegmentos de la KRAS-mutante (las mutaciones de KRAS son un biomarcador del cáncer colorrectal). Esta nueva tecnología utilizará células inmunitarias vivas as the “drug.”

An upcoming announcement will provide detail about which sub-segments will be targeted and what testing will be required to know if a patient is eligible. It is important for us to highlight that the basis for Phase 1 clinical trials is usually animal model testing or preliminary findings in at most a few patients. This means that even if preliminary data look promising, they are very early and need clinical confirmation.

As discussed in our Currently Incurable Scientist Blog last January, this type of therapy enters into the ultimate areas of personalized immunotherapy. This has been explored for a number of years, for example at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the direction of Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Surgery Branch at the NCI.

Realistically, it will take months to years to know how well these therapies work for trial-eligible KRAS-mutant cancer patients and multiple years before they may become available outside of a clinical trial.

The research is now being transferred for more extensive clinical trial testing through a commercialization partnership with Kite Pharma. The findings of this type of research can potentially help many people, or at least serve as foundation to continue our research initiatives.

Stay tuned! Fight Colorectal Cancer and the Currently Incurable Scientist will stay on top of the details and will, as always, explain them to you in easy-to-understand layperson language as they are announced.

 

SOBRE DR. TOM MARSILJE

El Dr. Tom Marsilje lleva más de 20 años investigando en oncología y padece un cáncer de colon no MSI en estadio IV "actualmente incurable". Club Colón 2016 modelo Colondar 2.0. También escribe un blog personal sobre la vida en la intersección de ser a la vez paciente de cáncer e investigador "Aventuras de un optimismo terminal” and posts updates to Twitter @CurrentIncurSci. As mentioned in his introductory post to this monthly column, he is a Ph.D. scientist and not a M.D. He exclusively gives his opinions on the “science” of experimental therapies – nothing written should be misinterpreted as implying medical advice.